Moonlit Roses
by Iapis
Summary: There had been plenty of mystery that led to the change of a queen that once led for the benefit of her country, as well as the man that presumably was the main cause behind it. The man Kuja and Beatrix, the General of Alexandria, has a story to share...


**Author's Notes**

Now it's been nearly a year and a half or so {I think?} since I had any urge to start writing stories again. In the hopes of getting myself in the mood of continuing my other more popular stories, I decided to try a hand at an idea I had.

I'm not sure where this one will go, I have no real thought behind it other than a couple of ideas that I had for a few years with both game characters as well as some oc's. But this time around, even with a few oc's involved, I hope to be more focused on the main people that this is centered on. Forgive me if it seems to drift, lol.

**Final Fantasy IX**

_Moonlit Roses_

**Disclaimer::** I do not own Final Fantasy IX nor any of its trademark characters. The game and its story and character all are copyrighted to Square Enix.

Prologue of the Moonlit Roses

The rain fell heavily from the skies above, soaking the soldiers of two kingdoms and making the red blood course across the grounds that much quicker. Standing in the middle of what was once Burmecia, the city of the so-called 'rat people', its soldiers laying on the grounds of their own city dead or severely injured to the point of dying soon. The lone soldier that stood out in the open area of the city raised her face to the skies, her one eye closed as the rain plastered her beautiful brown hair down along her shoulders and back. Burmecia was laid to ruin, and none of its soldiers could stand up to the black mages, nor her, General Beatrix, the prodigy of the battlefield, loyal to her kingdom Alexandria. None could stand up to her, even when the numbers were against her. This was why all soldiers respected her and Alexandria's enemies feared her. In battle, she was a fierce opponent who would hold nothing back, protecting her kingdom first and foremost important to her.

Four people lay at her feet, defeated by her sword, foolish enough to even think that they could hold their own against her. They thought that they could stop her and her queen's plans... **"Ignorant fools,"** she muttered as she looked down back at them, sheathing her _Save the Queen_ sword away. **"How ridiculously weak..."** Brushing her hair from her one eye over her ear and shoulder, she sighed softly to herself. **"Isn't there anyone who is worthy of facing me?"** Surely after all this time, there should have been someone that could give her a decent battle, save for one that had led her to semi-respect these people of Burmecia... though in which that same respect was hindered to give, as there was another that she had faced from this very city.

Queen Brahne chuckled somewhere behind Beatrix, having had watched the fight from a safe distance, the silver haired man Kuja standing nearby. He seemed to be more entranced with the woman that was the general, impressed with her swordplay even though it was against weak fools. **"Come, Beatrix. We must prepare to attack Cleyra,"** the queen said to her, as they were discussing this before the intruders interrupted. General Beatrix turned and saluted to her queen, the group she had defeated barely moving as two of them watched with disdain. **"Yes, Your Majesty,"** Beatrix said, keeping her eye from showing the emotions that had built for months since the queen started her compaign.

Was this really the right way? What her queen was doing, she meant. Despite that the spies her queen had hired as to find out if anyone was to gather their forces and try to take Alexandria, even now Beatrix felt that something was amiss. There were no rumors of Burmecia planning on anything to do with attacking their kingdom. And when they had gotten here, it was poorly defended at best. Unless they were concentrating their forces elsewhere and left their city to look harmless as to deter people from thinking otherwise, Beatrix doubted that they were really going to cause war. But... she was the general of her kingdom, and it was her duty to carry out what her queen orders her to do. If it was to protect her kingdom and the queen, then she must do it. For what was for a soldier to do but fight and protect what they sworn they would defend?

As the queen and the general began to leave, Kuja himself was left to speculation on just about everything. Well, perhaps at the moment he was studying the swaying hips of the lovely general, thinking on how powerful she was indeed. Luckily she was simply a vessel for her queen to control, but what a beautiful but deadly pawn she was. Kuja had hopes for this woman, though for the meantime, he tore his eyes away from the hypnotic sway of her hips to the fools laying on the ground where they had fell. He approached them and smirked lightly as his eyes were first on the Burmecian in the group. **"Now then, what do we have here...? Another filthy rat, and..."** Traveling among the line of strange people, there were also a Qu {such strange creatures they were}, apparently a rouge of the prototype model... but the boy among them with the tail. He frowned just slightly, though the smirk was to return a second later. **"Hm... this boy could become a problem..."** he mused to himself, though it was to remind himself that the boy was on the ground among his weak friends, just as beaten as they were. Even if he was to grow stronger, by that point in time, it would be rather too late.

Kuja chuckled as he approached them closer, his voice reviberating hollowly along the rain-soaked buildings. **"What a fantastic display of combat, I really must commend your efforts,"** he told the group as he watched two out of four move as to try and look at him. Really only the Burmecian was able to even lift her head, groaning quietly in pain. She muttered the word 'you' a few times but couldn't even gather the strength to continue to talk. This made Kuja chuckle again as his smirk deepened. **"Well, a marvolous performance is about to begin. I wouldn't want you to miss the opening act..."** he added as he turned away, his hand sweeping his hair from his face even as the rain splashed it all back down again. A gust of wind from above swept the heroes heavily along with great blasts of water from the rain, a beautiful silver dragon coming to land in front of the man that walked away. Smiling, his hand rose and laid on the beast's head before he was to step up onto its offered front leg to him and sat upon his back. Looking back at the group, his laughter rose to a louder volume even as the dragon brought its head up and began to leave the ground with its mighty wings. Freya was to shield her face from the gusts as both the dragon and the man was to rise higher and higher into the skies, vanishing from their sight and returning to his lair as to plan for the next event that will come up soon...

Things will become interesting indeed.

**Yes, I know that this kind of scene had been done with most of the Final Fantasy IX stories that are on here, but bear with me. I hope that you can see that this is only the beginning of what I hope will become an interesting story. Does Kuja really have an interest in Beatrix? How much had the general come to doubt her own queen as this story goes? And does it really go along with the game story itself?**

**Well, you'll just have to see, won't you?~**


End file.
